


The Longbottom's Wedding

by claimingtheanonymous



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Marauders, Marauders' Era, Mild Language, Summer, Wedding Fluff, jily, jilytober
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-26
Updated: 2017-10-26
Packaged: 2019-01-23 17:16:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12512304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/claimingtheanonymous/pseuds/claimingtheanonymous
Summary: The first of the weddings fuelled by the war, the first the marauders attended, the first that James and Lily attended, though the last one they attended separately.





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of a series of jily one shots I'm slowly working on!

"Jamesie this looks like it's going to be quite the wedding, do you and Sirius have appropriate robes for it that still actually fit you?" Euphemia Potter asked from James' doorway holding the fancy wedding invitation in hand.

Himself and Sirius were on the bed, a chessboard between them and a dozen or so empty sweet packets surrounding them.

"Yeah mine are fine mum." James said dismissively not looking away from the chessboard.

"Mine still fit Euphemia, though I don't grow every two weeks like your darling Jamsie." Sirius said mockingly.

"You're only being petty because you're losing." James told him.

"Well boys, not too late to bed please, you'll have to be up and away handy in the morning if you're helping Alice and Loraine out with the flowers." Euphemia told them a soft smile on her lips as she watched the two boys, both wearing ragged t-shirts and flannel pyjama bottoms just like they had when they were 13.

"Mum, we're 17!" James groaned his head falling back dramatically.

"Well, I'm just saying, she wants you at the house for 9:00am sharp. And we know how Sirius struggles in the morning." She said dotingly.

"Yep, James will have the delight of getting me up and out of the house though Euphemia so there's no need for you to get up early tomorrow, you can have a lie in!"

Euphemia laughed at this strode into the room and gave each boy a kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight boys. Have a lovely day tomorrow, and wish Alice all the best."

"Will do Mum, night." James muttered moving his knight on the board.

"Goodnight!" Sirius replied before turning back to the board. "What time does the wedding actually start though?" He asked looking at the board.

"No way Sirius! We promised Alice we'd help set up and anyway, Remus and Peter are going that early too. We'll have the whole day together!"

"But we saw them like a week ago!" Sirius groaned moving a piece at random, bored and knowing that his chances of winning were slim to none.

"What happened at the lake Sirius? Huh? You've been so against meeting up with the other two. Why?" He asked concerned hoping against hope that whatever it was that was going on between Sirius and Remus hadn't ruined their friendship.

"Oh nothing…it just…whatever I don't want to talk about it." Sirius scambled, watching as James moved his castle across the board. "You know what I'm going to bed. Like your mum said we have to be up early." He slid off the bed gracefully, pulling his hair up and away from his face and tying it back. "Night." He mutterd and James watched cautiously as Sirius left his bedroom, closing the door behind him rather aggressively.

All James could do was hope that whatever it was, Sirius and Remus would sort it out between themselves tomorrow.

"Sirius! Wake up!" James said louder, shaking the prone figure who's hair had fallen from the hair band and was now spread all over his pillow. "Come on! You said you had to shower this morning as well! Well I'm done, just got to get dressed so now you have to get in the shower! It's 8:00am and you take at least half an hour!" James insisted still shaking Sirius' shoulder back and forth until he saw soft blue eyes glaring up at him from the blue pillow cases.

"Alright!" James pulled away, hands in the air as he backed from the bed, watching as Sirius sat up and got out of bed. "One hour." James warned before leaving Sirius' bedroom and heading toward his own once more.

His suit was hung up on the outside of his wardrobe, black pants, white shirt, slim black tie, and blazer jacket, pocket square already neatly slotted into the breast pocket by his mum. His shoes were polishing themselves neatly by his bed, again thanks to his mum who was fishing around his sock drawer for a matching pair.

"Mum just leave it! No one will see them anyway!" James told her.

"James! This is a big deal! Your first proper wedding! You have to look smart!" She told him sternly continuing to dig through the top drawer of his dresser.

"I thought you were going to have a lie in?" He asked her, shaking his head as she pulled out another pair of socks that were mismatched and shook her head.

"I'll go back to bed once you've both gone." She told him.

"You mean once you know we're both dressed properly?" He asked a grin on his face as his mother turned to face him, hands on her hips.

"Well…yes that is why I'm up! I know you two too well."

"Don't you trust us?" He asked, widening his eyes purposefully at her.

"Oh Jamesie, you know I do! Fine, I'll leave you too it! Hopefully you haven't grown since my last alterations to those trousers." She muttered as she crossed the room and left muttering all the way down the hall.

James sighed, it was true his mum had only altered his trousers a few weeks ago for some ministry ball he'd had to attend with his parents, and before that they had been brand new.

Taking off his jeans he quickly switched into the black pants and checked in the mirror, there might be the slightest view of his socks, but he really didn't care all that much, it would jazz up the outfit a bit, he thought. Dressing in the rest of his wedding outfit he ventured out and back into Sirius' room where the owner of the room was pulling on his boxers giving James a glimpse of a pale behind.

"Not exactly the arse I wanted to see first thing in a morning." James commented with a laugh as Sirius spun quickly, his wet hair sticking to his face comically.

"Well I'm sorry that this arse was not the shapely behind of Miss Evans…" He said and James laughed loudly causing Sirius to smile as he pulled on his dark blue trousers and white shirt.

"What time is it?" Sirius asked as he placed his cufflinks in.

"Uh...8:45am." James told him with a glance at his wristwatch.

"Just enough time for a coffee and some breakfast!" Sirius said delighted, before bouncing his way out of the room, wet hair swinging as he did.

"Be good boys! And do try and be helpful and not a hindrance to Florean and Loraine!" Euphemia Potter told them from the front doorstep still wrapped in her dressing gown.

"Will do Euphemia! Don't wait up for us!" Sirius called over his shoulder as he shrugged into the matching dark blue jacket that he had almost forgotten, the reason why Euphemia ended up waving them off from the doorstep.

"Bye!" James called before taking out his wand and disapparating into nothing and arriving seconds later in the small Wizarding village of Ilkley in the Yorkshire Dales.

It was mid July and the morning promised a beautiful day, the sun was shining out from between white fluffy clouds and there was only a slight wind that blew a soft summer breeze through the small village.

James and Sirius had apparated into the Fortescue's back garden that sat just on the outskirts of the village, from the garden the noise from the large georgian house already suggested that a great number of people were inside.

Entering through the open back door James and Sirius looked about the busy room noting that they knew no one else in there and stood there lost as to where they should be going.

"Ah James and Sirius! Lovely to see you boys!" Florean Fortescue announced coming into the room, his pink cheeks as flushed as ever but instead of his usual bright shirt and patterned trouser combination that was so beloved by all customers at Florean Fortescue's Ice cream Parlour, he was wearing exceedingly fancy wizards robes that were a dark green, lighting up his eyes that shone with pride.

"Mr Fortescue!" They both greeted, they had always been frequent customers at the family run business, as well as being close friends of Alice's. "How's everything holding up?" James asked as he looked about at the chaos reigning.

"Oh brilliant! Absolutely perfect! The girls are all upstairs getting ready, Alice looks beautiful! And well Remus and Peter are just through the front carrying the flowers from here to the Reception in the town hall down the road. You don't mind do you?" He asked after his excited chatter.

"Not at all!" Sirius announced patting Florean on the shoulder. "More than happy to help out for Alice's big day!"

"This way then, the others shouldn't have set off yet, they were helping the florists son bring the flowers in off his broom."

Making their way through the bustling house and out the front door Sirius and James found Peter and Remus helping a handsome young man count the flowers, Remus was laughing gently at something the young man had said only to stop when he caught sight of them, a blush colouring his cheeks.

James just rolled his eyes and bounced down the steps and began picking up bunches of flowers that were laid out on the grass.

"Where are we taking them then?" He asked to the garden in general.

"Just down the street James. Follow me." Peter said proudly, grabbing two bunches in his hands before walking out of the gate.

It took the four marauders four trips to take the flowers to the town hall and hand them over to the decorators there. Remus and Sirius stayed behind James Peter the whole time, talking quietly all the while.

"I just can't believe that Alice is getting married!" Peter declared as they returned to the house.

"Me neither Pete! Mental! Can you imagine getting married this young?" He asked shaking his head.

"But Frank's two years older and I mean…they've been going out for a while." Remus interjected moving into the living room and taking a seat on the sofa.

"Yeah but it's still crazy." Sirius said with a shrug of his shoulders.

The boys were quiet for a moment, lost in thought, only to be interrupted by the arrival of Alice and her entourage of ladies.

"Well hello boys!" Alice said grinning madly at all four of them. She looked beautiful, her white dress was sleek and simple, flaring out from her waist, her hair was curled about her pretty face.

All four boys stood at her entrance and began praising her beauty to which she blushed and told the lot of them to shut up.

"You'll want to get to the church. I'll be there soon!" She said raising her eyebrows in excitement.

"Yep we'll get gone. We'll let Frank know that you've run off." James said with a grin then gave Alice a quick hug and left, the other's following suit.

The church of Ilkley village was jam packed full of people and it was filled with excited chatter as 12:00pm rolled ever closer. The four marauders spent the half an hour they had left to wait till the ceremony discussing all of the things they had yet to sort out for the Canewdon music festival. At 11:53am the church doors flew open and the crowd inside fell silent, only to laugh when in stumbled three young girls who giggled at all the eyes on them.

James had stopped whatever it was he had been talking about as he saw the oh so familiar red head of Lily Evans enter the church. She was stumbling slightly as she entered and had to lean down to pull a strap of her heeled shoes back onto her foot. She was wearing a cream and floral dress that hit her mid calf, the material was thin and fitting, with a low plunging neckline, her hair was soft and wavy about her face falling below her shoulders blades. James watched as she, Dorcas and Marlene shuffled in giggling and took a seat in the last pew left at the back of the church. They were just sitting down when James caught Lily's eye and she grinned at him and gave him a quick wave before taking her seat turning toward Dorcas on her left.

"Evans' looking pretty." Sirius murmured into James ear as music started up from the front of the church.

"Yes…she is." Was all James replied as he replayed that grin she gave him.


	2. 2

The ceremony passed quickly, the words said between Frank and Alice were beautiful, rings exchanged, papers signed and soon they leaving through the doors of the church, the newly married couple and their guests were making their way to the town hall through the sunny streets of Ilkley. It was on the short walk that Lily, Dorcas and Marlene made their way to the four marauders and began to walk with them to the town hall.

"You know ladies, some would call you bad friends for turning up late to a wedding." Sirius said raising an eyebrow as the girls giggled in response.

James was watching Lily, her cheeks flushed in the summer sunshine, hair shining and flowing from side to side with each of her steps.

"Blame Lily." Dorcas muttered bumping her shoulder into Lily's.

"She drove us." Marlene explained with a roll of her eyes.

Lily flushed a deeper shade of red and tucked her hair behind her ear, obviously embarrassed.

"You drive?" James asked in shock. "Like a muggle car?"

"Yeah…" Lily said looking confused. "What else would I be driving?"

James fell short, stumped.

"A motorbike." Sirius threw out in aid of James' lack of an answer.

Lily sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yes a car!" She acquiesced.

"Where is it?" Peter asked looking somewhat excited at the prospect of a ride.

"A bloody million miles away!" Dorcas interjected before Lily could speak, with a loud laugh that made Marlene laugh as well.

"Shut up!" Lily yelled as they continued down the street. James grinned at Lily's embarrassed smile, she caught his eyes and quickly looked away, looking straight forward. "Honestly, it's not that far away!" She moaned.

"It's literally the other side of the village because someone didn't want to park in between these two cars…" Marlene told the group causing them to laugh.

"It was a parallel park! And I hate doing those! Anyway, I didn't see either of you offering." Lily huffed crossing her arms causing James to garner a view of her slight cleavage, pale, milky skin, pushing delightfully against the fabric of her dress.

"You'll have to drive us somewhere, sometime Lily." Remus told her with a smile and Lily grinned in response walking up to him and wrapping her arm through his elbow and continuing ahead of the rest of the group.

James felt the frown appear between his eyebrows, as it always did when Lily chose Remus over him. It was not as if they were close, James and Lily, it had only been at the end of their sixth year that they found themselves able to talk to one another, they spent one evening, after Gryffindor's quidditch victory, just talking and drinking, James felt that they had really broken through the barrier that she had placed between them for so long. But it had been two months since that night and James wasn't sure whether she had suddenly begun to regret their newfound friendship.

"James?" Marlene asked from beside him, a soft smile on her painted red lips.

"Huh?"

"I just said that you should try and actually talk to her." She said giving him a pointed look, they were just walking through the gates to the town hall, the doors were wide open and inside the room was decorated magnificently, candles everywhere, flowers everywhere, white linen, round tables, waiters and waitresses dotted around with trays of drinks in hand.

"Yeah?" He asked sceptically.

"Yes. She didn't shut up about you on the drive here."

"She knew I was coming?" He asked shocked.

"Yep, honestly I think you really changed her mind about you last year." Marlene told him before smiling and walking over to where Dorcas and Lily stood checking the seating chart.

"I need a fag." Sirius said to James as he walked back outside, fishing in his pocket as he went.

James followed with Remus and Peter behind, Sirius was already lighting his cigarette as the others joined him outside, James caught the flying packet of cigarettes as Sirius threw them to him. Taking one out and lighting it quickly with his wand as they watched the rest of the guests make their way inside. Remus and Peter were only social smokers, a bad habit that they picked up when they were drinking, but for James and Sirius it had become a full time bad habit, much to James' parents dismay.

"So, the first one bites the dust." Remus noted watching as Alice and Frank Longbottom arrived to be hounded by the hundreds of guests as they entered the town hall.

"To the Longbottoms!" Peter announced taking a glass from one of the waiters who had come outside with a tray of drinks and was offering the four marauders a glass each, though giving them disdainful looks as he walked away wafting away the smoke that was billowing around them.

"To the Longbottom's!" The boys cried, laughing even though it was immature and an old joke.

"You know I would have thought you'd all matured enough to get over that last name." Came a soft voice from the doorway to the townhall.

James' head flew to the speaker, registering on some unearthly level that it was Lily before he even spotted her.

"I don't think it will ever get old Evans." James pointed out, inhaling from his cigarette and watching her carefully. She was leaning against the doorframe, her dress clung to her hips, highlighting the curvaceous waist that had always been hidden by over large jumpers and frumpy school skirts. She looked wonderful, a ray of sunshine in the July sunshine.

"Still keeping up that bad habit then?" She asked eyeing James, an eyebrow raised.

James could feel the gaze of his friends on him, knew they were thinking the exact same thing as him; he wasn't the only one smoking and yet she was speaking solely to him.

"It's a hard one to drop." He told her, his eyes not leaving hers.

"Would that make me a bad habit? Seeing as how you haven't been able to drop me?" She asked oh so innocently, a smug smirk playing on her lips.

James felt his eyes widen in shock at her blunt question, could feel the cigarette between his fingers burning closer and closer to his skin, it was getting hotter. He was getting hotter. But his throat was full, of what he didn't know but there was something there stopping him speaking as she continued her steady gaze.

There was an awkward cough from his left and Sirius quickly dropped the cigarette butt to the floor, squashing it underneath his shiny black shoes before patting James quickly on the shoulder and walking back into the town hall, past Lily Evans who didn't move didn't move her eyes from James. Remus and Peter followed suit, disappearing through the door leaving James stood awkwardly with his cigarette burning down quickly, facing Lily whose smile was growing slowly.

"What did you ask?" James said stupidly. He'd heard exactly what she'd said but needed to make sure he'd understood what she was getting at.

Lily was grinning fully now, teeth bright and white between plump lips that were painted a deep pink. "Am I a bad habit James? Am I your bad habit?" She asked, stepping down from the step and coming to stand right before him, taller than he was used to having her, what with her being in heels, her face was much closer to his own than he was used to.

"Um…Lily-I…I wouldn't call you a bad habit." He told her in what he had hoped was a cool way but knew he failed as the cigarette burnt down to his fingers and he let it go quickly shaking his hand in pain.

Lily laughed loudly and James watched as she brought one foot forward, placing the toe of her heeled shoe between his legs, squashing the dropped cigarette butt with ease. James felt himself swallow hard at the sight of her pale calf, heel clad foot and red painted toes. He was whisked from that moment to another as her hands grasped the knot and middle of his tie causing his gaze to jump back to her face.

She was closer, one foot still delicately placed between his legs, her face mere inches away as she straightened his tie, the knuckles of one hand touching his chest, he wondered whether she could feel his hammering heart beneath her touch.

"What would you call me than James?" She asked, her hands still holding his tie.

James almost groaned at the soft way she said his name, a sound that could have come from an angels lips.

"Lily." He whispered and then shook his head. "You're…you…"

Lily giggled at his lack of words and James felt the unnatural flush fill his dark cheeks.

"When you come up with an answer let me know." She told him before letting her hands slide down the lapels of his blazer and tugging them slightly, giving her the appearance of fixing his clothes. Then she was gone climbing the step back into the town hall, grabbing a fizzing glass from a waiter and leaving James dumbstruck outside in the summer sunshine, feeling oddly hot under the collar.


	3. 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter of The Longbottom's wedding. A prequel to Harry and the Flobberworms and sequel to Buzzcut!

By the time the entire party was seated on their appropriate tables, in their appropriate seats for the wedding feast it was 2:30pm.

"I'm starving." Sirius moaned as he watched the head table being served food first.

"Oh shut up." Marlene told him, though she was looking about herself for any sign of food.

The room was filled with excited chatter, the glorious smell of fantastic food and soft music that was being played in the corner by a live band. The round table that James was sat at was split in half, the three girls on one side and the four boys on the other. Lily sat between Dorcas and Marlene, Remus beside Marlene, Sirius next to Remus and James on his left with Peter beside him.

The table was toward the back of the room, family closer to the head table, but it gave the group a freedom to be a little rowdy without disturbing the family.

"Now that they're married does it mean that Alice will get special circumstances to leave school?" Peter asked while swigging some of the fancy elf-made wine that kept refilling in the glasses on the tables.

"Apparently so!" Dorcas said giggling over her own glass, as puddings were placed down onto the table before them.

"No way!" Sirius said, his lighting up at the thought. "So little Miss Fortescue gets to leave school whenever she wants so she can go and fuck Longbottom?"

"Shh!" Lily hissed at Sirius as some of the guests from the next table along turned looking shocked.

"Yep! And I think you'll find she's Mrs Longbottom now Sirius!" Marlene corrected.

"Did she tell you this? I mean about being able to leave Hogwarts?" James asked the girls.

"Yeah she did. Tells us everything." Lily replied, and James noted the pink flush in her cheeks, though she wasn't the only one who seemed to be flushed from the alcohol on the table.

"No wonder she said yes." Remus remarked, his cheeks pink and a sleepy grin on his face.

"She said it would have been too hard to go a whole year without seeing him." Lily told the table while happily eating the chocolate looking pudding.

"Come on! She could have seen him every Hogsmede weekend and the holidays too. It wouldn't have been a whole year!" Sirius accused pointing a finger at Lily.

"Give it a rest Black." Dorcas told him while Lily rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. I'm still jealous though."

"Jealous of Alice banging Longbottom?" James asked with a laugh, elbowing Sirius in the ribs hard and making him slop some of his drink onto the once white linen.

"Oh yeah! I'd give Longbottom the fuck of his life!" Sirius announced loudly just as a glass was clinked loudly from the head table and everyone turned toward it. Alice and Frank were giggling in their centre seats at Sirius' comment as Mr Fortescue began the speeches that lead into the wedding cake being cut and then the first dance.

Almost every single guest, save for a few of the more ancient and frail looking family members, were stood on the edge of the dance floor watching as Alice and Frank Longbottom held each other close while they danced to a slow song, they were both smiling softly and Frank was whispering in Alice's ear making her grin and giggle.

"She looks so beautiful." Lily whispered to Marlene. James was stood behind her, she'd been behind him but hadn't been able to see due to the amount of people and so he had tugged her in front of him, he could see perfectly well over her short height, even in a pair of heels.

As the music ends and moves onto another piece the dance floor fills with couples, everyone taking the opportunity to hold one another close after witnessing the beauty of the love between Alice and Frank.

"Lily-." James began only to be cut off as Sirius pushed past him and took hold of Lily's hand before dragging her onto the dance floor, him walking backwards and grinning widely at James before placing his other hand on Lily's waist and spinning her off around the dance floor.

James just stood watching them, his best mate and Lily flying around the dancefloor, Lily laughing in his arms, her hair flying with the velocity that Sirius was creating in their movements.

He knew he shouldn't be angry. It was stupid. Sirius didn't like Lily like that…hell he didn't like any girl like that, but still…he felt the impending doom of jealousy rise in him, just as it always did where Lily was involved. He hated it, partly because he knew how much Lily hated it, but he couldn't stop the way it bubbled under the surface.

Turning his back on the dance floor he moved back to the table where Remus was sat, nursing a glass of amber liquid.

"What's that you've got?" James asked as he fell into the seat heavily.

"Ogden's Finest." Remus replied, grimacing through the burn that the drink caused in his throat. "Want one?" He asked James.

James nodded and Remus revealed a hip flask from the jacket pocket that was placed over the back of his chair. James grinned, that hip flask had witnessed a lot of moments between the four marauders. He quickly transfigured one of the wine glasses on the table into a tumbler and held it out for Remus to pour the whiskey into.

"Where's Peter?" James asked taking a long slug of his drink.

"Off talking to some distant relative he knows that's here." Remus said with a wave of his hand and then a mischievous smile lit up his face. "Ah, explains the look of murder on your face." He told James raising a glass in a mock salute toward Sirius and Lily who were chatting and dancing not too far away.

James sighed and looked away from the couple into the amber drink in his glass.

"You can get so stupid about her, you know." Remus commented.

"I know." James mumbled swigging the remains of his drink before holding his glass out once more.

"Well, stop it." Remus told him simply before standing up, dropping the flask into James' lap and making his way onto the dance floor and joining Sirius and Lily, who pulled apart at his appearance and began dancing as a group.

James poured himself another glass and sat back watching the three people on the dance floor. He could feel his heart almost pushing him to join them, but he still hadn't recovered from his bout of insecurity, which is what it all was really about when he thought about it. He wasn't sure he was good enough to even want Lily never mind have her reciprocate his feelings.

"Oi, wanna smoke?" Came Sirius' voice from above him. James looked up to find his best friend stood right in front of him, cigarette dangling from between his lips, lighter in one hand, jacket being flung down onto the table carelessly.

"Yeah." James drained the contents of his glass, stood feeling the slight buzz begin to make itself known in his brain and followed Sirius out into the evening.

It was still light, the sun still setting slowly clouds rolling in and making it darker than it usually would have been at 9:00pm in July.

"What's got your wand in a knot? And if you say my dancing with Lily, I'm going to hit you." Sirius said seriously. James knew better than to test that theory.

"Nothing." James sighed lighting his cigarette and leaning against the side of the building.

"Give it up. Everyone could tell you were pissed that I danced with Lily before you. Even Lils noticed." Sirius told him, inhaling deeply and pulling his tie a little looser from his neck.

"She did?" James asked curious.

"Yeah, you know we were talking about you in there. She kept smiling and telling me how she thought you'd grown up and how maybe she'd grown up too." James was clinging to his every word, each one puncturing the little bubble of self doubt that had grown within him.

"Really?" He could hear how pathetically hopeful he sounded but he really didn't care.

"Yes you great sap!" Sirius told him, laughing and taking a long, hard drag.

"Sorry, you know I don't mean to get like this…"

"I know."

"Hey Sirius have you seen James?" Came Lily's voice from beside him, hidden from his line of sight in the doorway to his right.

James watched as Sirius smirked, threw down his nearly finished cigarette and moved in through the door.

James could hear him whispering quietly to Lily before her head popped around the side of the doorway.

"James!" She said with a grin.

"Alright Lils?" He asked attempting to still play it cool, taking a drag from his cigarette.

"I'm perfectly well." Lily said as she stepped down from the doorstep and leant her shoulder against the same wall James was leaning on. "Are you enjoying the wedding?" She asked, looking at him closely.

"Yeah…I am." James told her with a soft smile, not really looking at her. He feared he'd become too distracted to carry on a conversation like before.

"Got over your hissy fit have you?" She asked jokingly.

James laughed despite his embarrassment. "Yeah. I have." Was all he said in reply.

"Good. May I?" She asked holding out her slender fingers toward his lips where his cigarette hung, they were mere centimetres away and James noted the slightly chipped red nail polish on her nails.

"Lily Evans…who'd have guessed!" James said in mock shock as he handed her the cigarette and watched her carefully now, turning his body to the side, mimicking her own stance against the wall of the building.

Her hair had fallen out of the earlier curls, flattened somewhat, her lips had lost the pale lipstick that had once been there but she was bright eyed and pink cheeked and the most delightful thing James had ever seen. The sight of his cigarette between her lips made his heart soar.

"It is a muggle habit you know." She told him, puffing out smoke away from them.

"Just a shock is all…our very own prefect…smoking outside at a wedding." He told her. "Sounds completely made up if you ask me."

"Well it's not." She told him holding out his cigarette to him once more.

James moved his head down, taking the proffered cigarette between his lips, grazing them ever so gently against the pads of her middle and index finger in the process.

He heard Lily's sharp intake of breath and watched as she pulled them away quickly, her eyes flickering to his own and away again like lightening.

James didn't say anything, just stood back up to his full height and inhaled quickly, his face turned upwards to the ever-darkening sky.

"H-have you come up with an answer then Potter?" Came Lily's tentative voice from beside him. Looking down he noted that she wasn't looking at him, she was staring raptly at her hands where her thumb was rubbing her middle and index fingers gently.

"To what?" He asked stupidly.

"What would you call me if I'm not a bad habit?" She asked, and he noted that she had a smirk on her lips, though she still avoided meeting his gaze.

"Hm…" James stalled, taking one last drag on his cigarette before dropping it to the floor and stamping it out. "You're something I want…you intrigue me Lily, keep me on my toes, catch me off guard…I want to get to know you, so much more." He told her quickly, the words flying from his lips, he knew it was the buzz of alcohol that was flying through his system that had caused such honesty to burst out, but at that moment, he was glad that it had.

Lily looked up, her emerald eyes staring fondly into his own, a smile pulling at the corners of her lips. James was in complete shock as her small hand quickly reached out, grasping his tie once more, but this time pulling at it, until he had to move his head down, down until she stopped pulling as it reached the same level as her own. Her other hand reached up as well, though this once came to rest on his cheek as she leant forward and pressed her lips to his.

James had never felt shock like this. His body was frozen, he stood paralysed against the stone wall, his hands in his pockets as Lily's soft lips touched his own, as her thumb stroked against his cheekbone gently, leaving a tingling trail where she touched.

Just as quickly as she had initiated it, she pulled away with a soft sigh.

"Sorry." She whispered, still gripping his tie.

"No! No-no-no-no don't be sorry." James whispered, voice hoarse, finally freeing his hands from the depths of his pockets and holding onto her waist gently. "You have nothing! I…Do it again?"

She laughed then, her face close and James could smell wine and cigarette smoke on her breath. "Not demanding or anything are you?" She joked.

"I feel like I wasn't at all present for that last kiss…" He told her noting how she bit into her bottom lip…he wished he could bite it.

"Mmmm, I have to tell you that you definitely were."

"Nah, I think I left the solar system." He told her with a grin, pulling her gently closer with his hands on her hips.

"Well then who did I…kiss?" She seemed to stumble over the word, as though she couldn't quite believe it herself.

"Ahem!" A feminine voice coughed behind them. It was Dorcas, hair wild around her face and a smug grin she was trying to quell.

Lily pulled away quickly, dropping her hands from his tie and James let her go, his hands slipping from their very comfortable position.

"Interrupting am I?" Dorcas asked raising her eyebrows.

"Shut up." Lily muttered before hurrying up to her, taking her arm and scurrying back inside where the music had grown louder and hit a quicker pace.

James let his head fall back against the stone wall. He couldn't believe it. She'd kissed him. Lily Evans had kissed James Potter!

He was grinning like a madman when he entered the townhall after smoking another cigarette, in the hopes that it would calm his nerves. He spotted her almost instantly, her red hair flying about her once more as she danced with Alice and the rest of them. Sirius had lost both his tie and jacket now, his shirt untucked and his hair tied back out of the way, Remus' jacket was still absent but his tie was slung low around his neck and the top two buttons of his shirt were now undone, Peter was still fully booted though his hair was stood on end. Dorcas had at some point rid herself of her shoes, Marlene had flung her hair up into a messy bun on top of her head that bounced around chaotically with each mad movement of her dancing and Lily, she shone so beautifully still, her hair wild around her, almost static her eyes shining brightly as they caught sight of him. James chucked his jacket onto their empty table and hurried over, joining in with their raucous dancing that consisted of jumps and spins and just living. They danced for the rest of the night, well past 1:00am when Alice and Frank left until they were told that it was over, they'd have to go home. The group of sweaty seventeen year olds left into the darkness of 2:14am, meandering their way back to the Fortescue's house where James, Sirius, Remus and Peter would floo home and Lily, Dorcas and Marlene were spending the night.

Jame and Lily didn't get another moment that night, if they'd have tried harder perhaps they could have done, but just being in the presence of their friends, just living in the moment they let the night disappear and it was only after Remus, Peter and Sirius had flooed away and Marlene and Dorcas had gone upstairs to get ready for bed that they found themselves alone.

"Were you drunk before?" James asked suddenly, voicing what had been niggling in the back of his mind since she'd kissed him.

"A little." She told him honestly. "Still am."

James nodded, head falling before reaching into the pot on the fireplace and grasping a handful of floo powder.

"But it's what I wanted, still do." She told him grinning and quickly stepped forward, wrapping her arms about his neck and, once more, pressing her lips to his. And James kissed her back, his hand coming to the back of her neck, holding her there as he pressed his lips back against hers, feeling her sigh softly against him as one of her hands ran softly through the mess that was his hair.

She pulled back to look in his eyes. "Write me?"

James grinned, "Absolutely." He told her before turning around to face the fireplace and throwing down the floo powder and disappearing through the grate, thinking only of the fact that he had to concentrate on what grates were flashing past his line of vision but all he could honestly focus on was Lily, the feel of her lips, her body pressed softly to his and the smile that had lit her up afterwards.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on [tumblr](https://claimingtheanonymous.tumblr.com/) | btw, come say hi!


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